


A Little Piece of Normal

by RoseAmaranth



Series: 31 Days of Autumn [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 31 Days of Autumn, American Football, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, IronStrange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21602218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseAmaranth/pseuds/RoseAmaranth
Summary: Tony Stark - genius, billionaire, philanthropist, former playboy - plans a causal Sunday in his apartment with his family. Somethingnormal.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: 31 Days of Autumn [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1503341
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	A Little Piece of Normal

**Author's Note:**

> So, the Wikias for Stephen list his hometown as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but a lot of fanfics and fan posts say he's from somewhere in Nebraska. I decided, for the purposes of this fic, to have him be from Philadelphia. For one, it works better with football because Philadelphia has its own team in the National Football League (NFL) whereas Nebraska doesn't. And another, I know more about Philly than I do about anything in the Midwest (sorry to anyone who lives there. I live on the East Coast).
> 
> I happened to grow up in a football household myself (go Washington D.C.!), so a lot of this is based on my own personal knowledge.
> 
> I edit this on my own so all mistakes are mine. I don't own any of the characters obviously. 
> 
> This is day twelve: American football

Snacks were set on the counter. Drinks in the cooler. Tony finished wiping down the sink when the sizzle of magic cut in the room, Stephen stepping through the portal and rolling his eyes at Tony. Peter and Harley added some bowls of chips to the already plentiful snacks and greeted the sorcerer.

“Tony...” Okay, so _maybe_ he went a bit overboard in planning this little gathering, but it was only because he was excited to participate in something normal that Stephen knew a lot about (the man loved to explain things to people) and that Harley absolutely loved. Tony himself never cared for the sport and therefore didn't know any of the rules or plays when he was first looking into it. But if he could learn Quantum Physics in a night, he could figure out a sporting game even a high school idiot could play. 

With Harley and Stephen's help, Tony figured out the scoring rules and penalties (not that they were really difficult to understand), and he found himself enjoying figuring out plays and ways to counter another play; kind of like when he played chess. Only....sportier. He then was informed by the teen that games were typically shown on television Sunday afternoons and evenings, Monday nights, and occasionally Thursday nights, so he set up a Sunday where they could all hang out and enjoy some of these games.

Tony spent much of his free time between missions and meetings learning all he could about the many teams involved in the National Football League, and decided he would like to show support for the New England Patriots, a team whose record was the best of anyone. A browse through Wikipedia showed they were winners many times over, taking home a trophy in an event called the 'Super Bowl'. Harley liked a team from Tennessee called the Titans, and Peter said he felt the Jets, who hailed from New York but played in Jersey, appeared to be the underdogs of them all and would be an interesting team to keep an eye on. Plus, they were from New York.

(Stephen and Harley both cracked up at the idea of cheering for the _Jets_...)

Between the four of them, only Harley and Stephen knew anything about if a team was good or bad, something about solid defense and aggressive offense, but the teams had records of wins and losses, so Tony decided you can't argue with cold facts. You can't argue with statistics. Someone who wins a lot will probably keep winning. Someone who loses a lot? Probably not going to win that many games. 

Harley said most fans chose teams based on where they lived rather than on how good the team actually was- so like, someone who lived in New York would probably like the Giants, the Jets, the Bills, or even the Patriots. Or if they lived in Florida, they would mostly favor the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (a team Tony would never like because their record was laughable and he was never a fan of Florida) or the Miami Dolphins.

Stephen, being from Philadelphia, was raised up a fan of a team called the Eagles, so while Tony wore a Patriots scarf he found online, he decided to go with a green Eagles jersey with 'Strange' on the back. Also, apparently he was expected to hate the rivals of the team he supported (again, according to Harley), so he looked into the divisions and who would be an Eagle rival (since he would be watching with Stephen, who could deny it all he wanted but would definitely. So he now had a healthy amount of animosity for the teams from Washington D.C., Dallas, and New York. Especially those New York Giants ( _that_ he found out looking over social media and football forums). 

“Lighten up, Stephen! It won't be so bad. And it's inspired me to actually look into getting the Avengers to play this as part of those stupid bonding exercises Steve loves so much. Be proud, babe.” Harley was strutting around the room and showing off his own blue and white jersey, seemingly as excited about the afternoon as Tony was. Stephen and Peter, less enthusiastic about everything, were sat on the couch, watching the television and discussing one of the games playing. Tony had what was called the _NFL RedZone_ , which could show multiple games at once and would also show alerts from other games playing at the same time so one could keep track of what was going on across the league without having to change the channel from a game they were watching. It made it easier for him because he had no clue what game to pick.

He quickly found out there were quite a few to pick from, especially on a Sunday afternoon. Sundays were apparently the most popular for showing the sport. There were at least four games playing at the same time. How anyone could keep up with it all as devotedly as the fans of football did he had no clue.

“How did you even find out Stephen likes football? I never would have guessed it. Just from looking at him.” The wizard joined them at the counter, picking a chip out of a bowl with a sigh. Tony beamed at him anyway.

“I'm really not that much a fan of the sport. My _dad_ and _brother_ cared far more about it than I do. And with everything going on in my life, I certainly haven't kept up seriously with anything going on with teams or divisions. I mean, I only just found out the Rams moved to Los Angeles!” Tony snickered.

“Where were they before?” Harley and Stephen answered at the same time, though in drastically different tones.

“St. Louis.” Tony nodded as if that made perfect sense (in reality, it was far better business-wise to move to somewhere like L.A.)

Stephen told him about the whole 'I'm not really a fan of football' thing one night while they were flipping through the television channels. When they stumbled upon a football game, Tony rolling his eyes at the overrated sport, Stephen casually mentioned he grew up watching it and that his dad and brother were massive football fans. Though he made it quite clear he didn't care for it as much as they did, Stephen happened to remember a lot about it ( _“Eidetic memory, Tony. A blessing and a curse.”_ ) and so they watched through a game (he couldn't remember the teams, but it was no one Stephen cared about) with Stephen explaining the rules and Tony hatching this little plan.

It was over-the-top, but that was the Tony Stark way. Besides, it would be something fun for people to bond over.

“Yes, but I then remembered Harley is a big football fan, and so I figured I could see about making it a thing we all do together. I mean, I figure that is how many families across the country view these games. Surrounded by family and friends with food and friendly trash talking. I looked into it quite a bit, actually. It seemed nice. _Normal_.” Peter was still watching the television, arms crossed and leaning deep into the couch. When Stephen noticed where Tony was watching, he chuckled and motioned towards Peter.

“I was telling him about the game. The teams. Same things I told you. His shitty Jets aren't playing right now, so he's just taking it in and trying to understand the very complicated game of American football. They've added stupid rules in the past few years.” Ah, so mister 'I'm no that much of a fan' knew they changed the rules? And knew them well enough to explain them to Tony and Peter? Tony leaned on the counter, chin resting in his hand, and smiled up at Stephen.

“Okay, so who's, like, really good right now?” The wizard huffed, turning away from the television to meet Tony's eyes. There was no hiding the glow of those eyes, something he only happened to see when Stephen was interested in something. Or, you know, in the bedroom.

“Right now? I'd say New England is the best of anyone. Philadelphia is having a great season, actually, though considering the teams they are competing with are some of the all-time worst, well, it's hardly a challenge.” Stephen faced the television once more, brows furrowed as he studied the different games and pursed his lips. Tony preferred to study his profile over watching a bunch of guys in tights fighting over a ball. 

“Admit you like watching football, Steph. It's all over your face. We all have our thing. It's nothing to be ashamed of!” Stephen huffed and shot him a look that meant Tony was right but Stephen was not about to admit it when he argued so long and so hard the opposite. Tony only smiled up at the handsome wizard and winked.

“You speak like Philly could ever compete with Atlanta or Carolina!” Tony glanced over at Harley, the smug expression he was aiming at Stephen melting when Stephen crossed his arms and arched a brow. Oh no. That was his 'You're about to be schooled by a wizard' look. Tony knew it well. It was kind of....well, it was attractive. 

“And remind me how Tennessee is doing this year? Oh, right. Houston has been kicking their asses.” See? He was still keeping up with it. Or, maybe he took a look through google and was just better able to put everything together than Tony was. Whatever, Stephen was going to have a good time with the boys and that was what mattered most.

Speaking of, Stephen and Harley got to bickering, Tony absolutely beaming at the scene. It was so _normal_ when their lives really weren't, and it just cemented his idea that football - of all things - would really bring the team together. 

And the family he was sort of making right here.

“Stephen! How come they keep stopping this play? It's really annoying.” The argument between Stephen and Harley broke up, the wizard going over to the couch to answer Peter, while Harley picked up a plate and accepted a burger Tony offered.

“Tony, your fondness is showing.” He flicked a chip at the boy, who deftly caught it on his tongue and smirked. Stupid talented boys. Stupid powerful supreme wizard. Stupid Tony getting in his feelings about this odd mix of personalities. He loved it all dearly and would fight tooth and nail to keep everything exactly the way it was. 

“It's just nice, you know? Getting to enjoy something normal with him. With you guys. Something he apparently doesn't want anyone to know he cares a lot about. At least more than he says.” A soda burst behind them, Tony squeaking before turning to where Stephen was still standing with Peter, though those mischievous eyes were on Tony.

“Oh, just wait until my Patriots kick the ass of those birds of yours.” Stephen rolled his eyes and went back to watching the games. Tony put their plates together and joined Stephen on the couch, Peter now sat on the floor with a hotdog and chili and asking ten questions every few minutes. Which, of course, Stephen and Harley answered with varying amounts of patience, annoyance, and fondness. 

That's how they spent most of the day. They relaxed, enjoyed unhealthy food in copious amounts, received teasing from Rhodey and Wong when they showed up to see why Tony wasn't burning something down or why Stephen wasn't grumbling in his library, and ignored Steve Rogers calling them. They had a good time together doing something (mostly) non life-threatening. At least until a game came on between the Eagles and the Titans, Harley nearly ending up in a pocket dimension when he mocked the Eagles for dropping the ball on a major play.

Yeah, Tony really loved this time of year.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> 31 Days of Fall!
> 
> 1\. Apple picking  
> 2\. Getting lost in a corn maze  
> 3\. Going to a pumpkin patch  
> 4\. Pumpkin Spice   
> 5\. Decorating for Halloween/Fall  
> 6\. Raking leaves  
> 7\. Masks  
> 8\. First Day of School   
> 9\. Hoodies & Scarves  
> 10\. Fireplaces  
> 11\. Blankets & Stargazing  
>  **12\. Football**  
>  13\. Farmer's Market  
> 14\. Bonfire and s'mores  
> 15\. Horror movie marathon  
> 16\. Carving Pumpkins  
> 17\. Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate  
> 18\. Avengers Fall Festival  
> 19\. The Smells of the Season (Scented candles, baking pies, etc)  
> 20\. Desserts  
> 21\. Red, Orange, and Gold  
> 22\. Costumes  
> 23\. Haunted House  
> 24\. Harry Potter  
> 25\. Apple pie  
> 26\. Ghosts  
> 27\. Magic Potions  
> 28\. Black Cats  
> 29\. Halloween Candy  
> 30\. Bones  
> 31\. Trick-or-Treating


End file.
